Rainbow Farm
Encyclopedia
Rainbow Farm was a pro-marijuana, libertarian
campground in Newberg Township, Cass County, Michigan
, that was involved in a deadly police standoff on Sept. 3, 2001.
It was run by Tom Crosslin
and his lover Rolland "Rollie" Rohm, and was home to two annual festivals, 'HempAid' and 'Roach Roast,' which ran from 1996 through 2001.
The organization ended with the burning down of all the structures on the property and the shooting deaths of both Tom Crosslin and Rolland Rohm.
) and 'Roach Roast' (on Labor Day), were part Woodstock, part union picnic. They were family-oriented affairs, with Rohm's son, Robert, wheeling his golf cart among the soft-drink stands and hemp clothing vendors and representatives from the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. Cannabis smoke in the air, festival-goers listened to onstage speakers rally against government oppression.
Guests included the chairman of the Van Buren County Libertarian Party, Tommy Chong
of "Cheech and Chong" fame, High Times editor Steve Hager, Merle Haggard
, members of Big Brother and the Holding Company
, and John Sinclair, the White Panther Party jefe and MC5 manager who, in 1969, had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing two joints. Most of these guests, unlike Crosslin or Rohm, could trace a lineage to radicalism of the 1960s, when they played to a more engaged audience. The legal loophole that Crosslin used to hold these gatherings without sparking mass arrests was that he, his employees and the concessionaires who paid to be a part of the festival sold absolutely no drugs.
These events from 1996 through 2001 made Rainbow Farm the center of marijuana activism in Michigan. It was listed by High Times magazine as "fourteenth on the list of twenty-five Top Stoner Travel Spots in the world".
prosecutor Scott Teter. A Rainbow Farm festival was linked to the death of a Berrien County teenager killed April 21, 2001, after his car crashed into a school bus carrying Eau Claire High School students. After a few months of unsuccessfully trying to gather evidence using undercover police officers, the investigation eventually came to a head in early May 2001, when Michigan State Police
troopers served a tax-fraud warrant and found more than 200 marijuana plants.
Tom and Rollie were arrested on felony manufacture and weapons charges, and Rollie's son, Robert, was taken into foster care.
Crosslin was charged with felony possession of a firearm, growing marijuana and maintaining a drug house.
He faced 20 years in prison and was out of jail on a $150,000 bail bond, as the state was moving to seize Rainbow Farm under civil asset forfeiture
proceedings.
During this time Crosslin publicly violated his bail agreement by announcing that he would throw another festival.
In August 2001, Crosslin and Rohm failed to appear at their appointed court date, and set fire to a building on their property.
Throughout Labor Day weekend, according to law enforcement accounts, Crosslin and Rohm systematically burned down the ten structures on their farm, shot at and hit a news helicopter filming the fires, shot at and missed a police surveillance plane, and sprayed the woods bordering the 34 acres (137,593.2 m²) property with gunfire to keep police at bay. Crosslin and Rohm also began procuring assault rifles and claiming that the farm had been mined and booby-trapped.
The state police and FBI agents surrounded Crosslin's house on August 31; with snipers in the woods watching the house.
Crosslin and Rohm fired several times at the police, striking both a helicopter and an armored vehicle.
On Sept 2nd, Crosslin walked into the woods on his farm, and while walking back he spotted an FBI agent lying on the ground. Crosslin raised his rifle and was shot in the forehead and died instantly. Note autopsy said Crosslin was shot five times in the head, and three times in the torso.
That morning, at 3:45 a.m., Rohm asked that his son be brought to see him and told police that if he was, he would surrender at 7 a.m.
Shortly after 6 a.m., a fire was reported at the Rainbow Farm residence. While walking outside the house Rohm was shot dead by another police marksman.
A third man, Brandon J. Peoples, suffered minor injuries when Crosslin was shot and was questioned by authorities.
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
campground in Newberg Township, Cass County, Michigan
Newberg Township, Michigan
Newberg Township is a civil township of Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,703 at the 2000 census.- Communities :...
, that was involved in a deadly police standoff on Sept. 3, 2001.
It was run by Tom Crosslin
Tom Crosslin
Tom Crosslin was a marijuana activist who was shot and killed on his "Rainbow Farm" by an FBI agent.- Rainbow Farm :...
and his lover Rolland "Rollie" Rohm, and was home to two annual festivals, 'HempAid' and 'Roach Roast,' which ran from 1996 through 2001.
The organization ended with the burning down of all the structures on the property and the shooting deaths of both Tom Crosslin and Rolland Rohm.
Background
Beginning in 1996, the two annual Rainbow Farm events, 'HempAid' (on Memorial DayMemorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
) and 'Roach Roast' (on Labor Day), were part Woodstock, part union picnic. They were family-oriented affairs, with Rohm's son, Robert, wheeling his golf cart among the soft-drink stands and hemp clothing vendors and representatives from the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. Cannabis smoke in the air, festival-goers listened to onstage speakers rally against government oppression.
Guests included the chairman of the Van Buren County Libertarian Party, Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
of "Cheech and Chong" fame, High Times editor Steve Hager, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, members of Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane. They are best known as the band that featured Janis Joplin as their...
, and John Sinclair, the White Panther Party jefe and MC5 manager who, in 1969, had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing two joints. Most of these guests, unlike Crosslin or Rohm, could trace a lineage to radicalism of the 1960s, when they played to a more engaged audience. The legal loophole that Crosslin used to hold these gatherings without sparking mass arrests was that he, his employees and the concessionaires who paid to be a part of the festival sold absolutely no drugs.
These events from 1996 through 2001 made Rainbow Farm the center of marijuana activism in Michigan. It was listed by High Times magazine as "fourteenth on the list of twenty-five Top Stoner Travel Spots in the world".
Investigation and arrests
Rainbow Farm was the focus of an intensive investigation by Cass CountyCass County, Michigan
Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 51,104. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a total population of 316,663 and is sometimes considered part of Greater Michiana...
prosecutor Scott Teter. A Rainbow Farm festival was linked to the death of a Berrien County teenager killed April 21, 2001, after his car crashed into a school bus carrying Eau Claire High School students. After a few months of unsuccessfully trying to gather evidence using undercover police officers, the investigation eventually came to a head in early May 2001, when Michigan State Police
Michigan State Police
The Michigan State Police is the state police agency for the state of Michigan. The MSP is a full service law enforcement agency with its sworn members having full police powers statewide....
troopers served a tax-fraud warrant and found more than 200 marijuana plants.
Tom and Rollie were arrested on felony manufacture and weapons charges, and Rollie's son, Robert, was taken into foster care.
Crosslin was charged with felony possession of a firearm, growing marijuana and maintaining a drug house.
He faced 20 years in prison and was out of jail on a $150,000 bail bond, as the state was moving to seize Rainbow Farm under civil asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture is confiscation, by the State, of assets which are either the alleged proceeds of crime or the alleged instrumentalities of crime, and more recently, alleged terrorism. Instrumentalities of crime are property that was allegedly used to facilitate crime, for example cars...
proceedings.
During this time Crosslin publicly violated his bail agreement by announcing that he would throw another festival.
In August 2001, Crosslin and Rohm failed to appear at their appointed court date, and set fire to a building on their property.
Throughout Labor Day weekend, according to law enforcement accounts, Crosslin and Rohm systematically burned down the ten structures on their farm, shot at and hit a news helicopter filming the fires, shot at and missed a police surveillance plane, and sprayed the woods bordering the 34 acres (137,593.2 m²) property with gunfire to keep police at bay. Crosslin and Rohm also began procuring assault rifles and claiming that the farm had been mined and booby-trapped.
September 2001
The standoff began when deputies went to the farm after neighbors said Crosslin was burning buildings on his property. Believing they were outgunned, the local authorities called in the FBI.The state police and FBI agents surrounded Crosslin's house on August 31; with snipers in the woods watching the house.
Crosslin and Rohm fired several times at the police, striking both a helicopter and an armored vehicle.
On Sept 2nd, Crosslin walked into the woods on his farm, and while walking back he spotted an FBI agent lying on the ground. Crosslin raised his rifle and was shot in the forehead and died instantly. Note autopsy said Crosslin was shot five times in the head, and three times in the torso.
That morning, at 3:45 a.m., Rohm asked that his son be brought to see him and told police that if he was, he would surrender at 7 a.m.
Shortly after 6 a.m., a fire was reported at the Rainbow Farm residence. While walking outside the house Rohm was shot dead by another police marksman.
A third man, Brandon J. Peoples, suffered minor injuries when Crosslin was shot and was questioned by authorities.
Time Line
- 1993: Tom Crosslin buys the property for Rainbow Farm in Vandalia, MichiganVandalia, MichiganVandalia is a village in Penn Township, Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 429 at the 2000 census. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. The farm begins holding annual "hemp festivals." - 1996: Scott Teter is elected Cass County prosecutor.
- 1999-2000: Rainbow Farm campaigns for the Personal Responsibility Amendment, a failed measure that sought to legalize private use of marijuana.
- 2001 - April: Rainbow Farm is linked to the death of a Berrien County teenager killed April 21, 2001, after his car crashes into a school bus carrying Eau Claire High School students.
- 2001 - May: Early on the morning of May 9, some 30 state police officers raid Rainbow Farm.
- 2001 - August: Crosslin and Rohm skip their court date and set fire to a building on their property.
- 2001 - September 3, Crosslin and Rohm are killed.